If United Airlines thought employee protest over its bonus cutback would fizzle out over the weekend, it could not have been more wrong.

Bill Murphy Jr., a writer for INC., was given access to Flying Together, an internal system at United that posts internal memos and other employee news. This site allows comments below each memo or news story. From a sample set of hundreds of comments over the recent bonus cutback, he reports that over 99% of the comments are negative.

To fully understand the mindset of employees, I believe it is helpful to go hear from them directly. Here’s a sampling of comments.

1. “This is insulting and a poor idea, to put it mildly.” –First Officer – B-767/B-757

2. “I would be embarrassed and mortified to win this lottery. If it was possible I wouldn’t allow my name to be released and I would give my ‘winnings’ to the Flight Attendant AFA Cause Charity. I win at the expense of tens of thousands of fellow employees? No thanks.” –Flight Attendant

3. “Awful idea. [Current] bonus program has everyone pulling in the same direction with a common goal. This is scratching a lottery ticket…” –Captain – B-737

4. “It occurred to me and my wife that this is terribly unfair to single parents. … Imagine your child coming home sick from school, no fault of your own. You are faced with calling in sick thus losing your ‘chance’ at a bonus or leaving your child/children home alone to care for themselves. What a terrible situation United has put that person in.” –First Officer – B-767/B-757

5. “I can’t imagine driving the Mercedes into the employee lot while everyone around me that worked just as hard, or harder got nothing. I would feel like such a jerk. It’s quite telling about the people who thought this up. I bet they would be gloating happily if they won.” –Flight Attendant – Domestic

6. “Respectfully…. there are many employees who depend on those bonuses and work their butts off to achieve them. Turning it to a lottery disincentivizes the hard work because most wont see a penny.” –Captain – B-737

7. “Not cool.” –Flight Attendant

8. “It felt like we had just gotten to a place where employee morale was up. It took so many years for people to feel good about what was happening. In one fell swoop, it is crushed again. … Please rethink this decision.” –Customer Service Representative

9. “If I wanted to play in a lottery, I would just go my local 7/11. I recommend United management reconsider this morale killing program.” –Captain – A-320

10. “We were finally all pulling from the same end of the rope. … Let’s fix this now and get back on track.” –Captain – B-737

11. “Sorry, divisive and wrong!!”–Flight Attendant – Domestic

12. “This is an insult to every single employee at UAL. Spin it however you want, but you’re still taking money out of our pockets and putting it into yours, Scott Kirby. Shame on you. Shame on you.” –Captain – B-737

13. “When I win the $100,000 drawing…..I am going to hire some young kid to write my 84,000 teammates each a check for $1.19 and share the reward with those who helped ME win this reward…..on YOUR hard work!” –First Officer – B-777

15. “Guess next time I get the flu I’ll still drag myself to work, because the company only rewards all our hard work to make this company a success if we never call in sick. I’ll say sorry now to all the other employees I infect. … This is a sad day at United.”–Flight Attendant – Domestic

16. “This sounds like a game show with cash prizes and lets see who gets the spin of the wheel. This doesn’t sound like a plan that even attempts to show value, respect and appreciation for the work of its employees.” –Flight Attendant – Domestic

17. “WOW! Looks like We are United against this ill thought out incentive program. Let’s see if We will be listened to. I would love to see 80,000 comments against this bad idea. I am also proud of all the front line employees who have spoken their minds on this issue.” –First Officer – B-777

According to Flyertalk, over 2,000 employees have weighed in on Flying Together concerning the changes. The only positive comments are management replies addressing disgruntled employees.

Meanwhile, the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) has released a formal statement on the new bonus structure (.pdf).

Our strong recommendation to management was to reconsider the chosen path forward. To our dismay, not only were the preliminary details of the program communicated to employees, the company’s announcement was the first time we heard many of the more restrictive details contained in the announcement.

To be clear – this program was not negotiated with the Union. It was unilaterally determined by management. While we were surprised by some of the components of the program, there is no part of the reaction by Flight Attendants and other employees that surprises us. It is exactly what we expected and predicted.

Many employees had questioned why the AFA and other union groups had not stepped in to “protect” them. The AFA essentially argues it was beyond their control.

Why Does This Matter?

Those of who fly United Airlines regularly remember the dark years of bankruptcy and the low morale of the late Smisek era. There is never any defense for poor service, but employee morale is directly related to how passengers are treated over the phone, at airports, and in the air.

This is the reason I have written about this issue three times.

The Obvious Solution: Revert to Old System

The ironic thing is that United Airlines can win back the support of its workers (and then some) by simply reverting to the old system. That’s my opinion, of course, and I note the irony of winning praise for giving employees exactly what they’ve had for years in a time of sustained profit. Even so, it would be a gesture demonstrating that United listens to employees and takes their concerns seriously. No, United would not be able to slash bonus costs as planned, but it would not cost the company additional dollars. It’s not like employees were asking for a larger bonus…

I just don’t understand how Kirby and his team could be so tone deaf. It’s not like Kirby also pledged to leave his millions of dollars in annual bonus to a lottery system.

CONCLUSION

While the solution may be obvious, I’m not holding out hope for a quick solution in favor of employees.

The other ironic aspect of this bonus change is that United employees are once again united. Sadly, it is against management.

About Author

Matthew

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he
travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 120
countries over the last decade. Working both in the aviation industry
and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in the New York
Times, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, BBC, Fox News,
CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Al Jazeera, Toronto Star, and on NPR. Studying
international relations, American government, and later obtaining a
law degree, Matthew has a plethora of knowledge outside the travel
industry that leads to a unique writing perspective. He has served in
the United States Air Force, on Capitol Hill, and in the White House.
His Live and Let's Fly blog shares the latest news in the airline
industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs and promotions, and
detailed reports of his worldwide travel. His writings on
penandpassport.com offer more general musings on life from the eyes of a frequent traveler. He also founded awardexpert.com, a
highly-personalized consulting service that aids clients in the
effective use of their credit card points and frequent flyer miles.
Clients range from retirees seeking to carefully use their nest egg of
points to multinational corporations entrusting Matthew with the
direction and coordination of company travel.

12 Comments

Any chance UAL floated this incredibly stupid and myopic bonus system knowing full well it would be universally panned only to simply go back to the old system and be seen as “heroes”?
I cannot see any other reason given how dumb this new arrangement seems.

I agree this is a way for management to save money on bonuses and spin it in a positive way. However, if this a performance bonus program is so important to employees, why isn’t this in the contract? My understanding of contracts was those are the terms you’re gaurenteed.

While I agree that the new system is a terrible idea, there is nothing worse than reading most of these “poor me”comments. Sounds like a bunch ungrateful employees. I mean really, who the heck actually complains about a bonus, that was these still are. Your mad about winning a car, a 100k, get real. I’ve been working literally since I was 7 and can’t remember a job where I got a bonus larger than $50. Sure voice your opinion and the move on, most of the employees are American citizens where literally the opportunities are limitless.

Just because you were not in a field where a bonus is not paid does not negate the feelings of these staff. When a bonus is dangled in front of staff as part of performance they have every right to get that bonus when they have achieved the goals that were clearly defined at the start of the process. I’m not a United fan nor a big of Unions but in this case I’m siding with the staff that are getting screwed.